Category: IELTS preparation

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College student ‘murdered’ # Practice Reading

A woman who disappeared (cease to be visible) 31 years ago in Germany and was registered (enter or record on an official list or directory)dead after a man confessed (admit that one has committed a crime or done something wrong)to her murder (the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another), was found two weeks ago living in Dusseldorf, the International Business Times reported.

In 1984, Petra Pazsitka, a 24-year-old computer science student, failed to show up at her brother’s birthday celebration, setting off a massive police search. Pazsitka was living in student housing (a university dormitory or a place where students live while studying) at the time in the German city of Braunschweig.

Detectives elicited (evoke or draw out (a reaction, answer, or fact) from someone) help from a popular (liked or admired by many people or by a particular person or group) German crime show called “Aktenzeichen XY,” and later a suspect (have an idea or impression of the existence, presence, or truth of (something) without certain proof) in the rape (unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim) and murder of a 14-year-old girl confessed to killing Pazsitka, according to NBC News.

Pazsitka’s body was never found, and the case was closed in 1989.

But things changed two weeks ago when a woman who called herself “Mrs. Schneider” summoned (to call upon to do something specified) police in Dusseldorf, Germany, to report a burglary (the felony of breaking into and entering the house of another at nightwith intent to steal, extended by statute to cover the breaking into andentering of any of various buildings, by night or day).

When police arrived and requested ID from the 55-year-old woman to complete the report, she revealed (to make known; disclose; divulge) herself to be Pazsitka, and produced an expired (to come to an end; terminate, as a contract, guarantee, or offer) identification (an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified)card to prove she was the missing student, IBTimes reported.

Pazsitka then confessed (an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified)to cops (police officers) that she had devised (an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified) a plan to move into an apartment she had been secretly renting (a payment made periodically by a tenant to a landlord in return for the use of land, a building, an apartment, an office, or other property.)and had saved 20,000 euros ($22,000) to create a new life.

A spokesperson (a person who speaks for another or for a group)for Braunschweig and Wolfsburg Police reportedly said: “As to the motive (the goal or object of a person’s actions) of her disappearance (a ceasing to be seen or to exist), she gave no explanation ( a statement made to clarify something and make it understandable) and expressly (for the particular or specific purpose) said that she continues to want no contact with the public or her family.”

Source : TIME

Read this passage again and again, until you grasp all the words of this passage. Once you are confident, go check out the quiz related to this passage by clicking HERE.

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Transport # Essay For IELTS

Essays in IELTS are of a varied range. You could either be asked something related to environment  or pollution or may be your opinion on the general trend. Let us have a look at essays related to transport. Transport is a means of travelling from one place to another. However, with growing times, it has posed different issues. As a result, it has become quite popular topic in the IELTS writing task.

  1. With the increase in private vehicles, roads have become more congested. What measures can the government and individuals take to deal with this situation?
  2. With the increase in number of flights, environmental concerns have increased. Some people suggest that to reduce the effects, the taxes on the flights must be increased. To what extent do you agree/disagree?
  3. Some people are of the opinion that an individual must retake their driving test every five years. What are the advantages and disadvantages of it?
  4. With the increasing congestion, some people have suggested that we must launch sky trains, which run above the head and not on road. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this mode of transport?
  5. Some people suggest that in order to reduce congestion in cities, privately owned vehicles must be banned while others consider this an unrealistic solution. Discuss both views.

Now, you have got questions. Brainstorm yourself and figure out ideas for the above questions. Practice them well and make sure that you get a high band in IELTS.

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Understanding IELTS Answer Sheet

IELTS is an offline exam i.e. you will not be given a computer to write your answer but rather an answering sheet. Although some people practicing for IELTS work in normal simple papers, it is always a good idea to practice writing in official sheets provided by IELTS.

You can download it here.

There are few reasons why you must always go for the official answer sheet.

  1. Word Count- For writing task 1, you need to write 150 words and for writing task 2 you are expected to write at least 250 words. Writing below the given word limit will make you lose some marks. Practicing on the answer sheet helps you to get an idea of how big the paper is, how many lines and how many space you take to write 150 words or 250 words. This helps in exam.
  2. You need to fill in the following information in your answer sheet. Practicing in it will save you from the hustle of understanding the answer sheet.
The front side

The front side

Your candidate name,  candidate number, center number, date are to be filled by you.  You need to check if you have are going for the academic or the general. Make sure you fill the details correctly.

The Back Side

The Back Side

You need not to write anything down the lines.

There are four areas where you will be checked –

Task achievement or reponse (TR) – information and idea

Coherence and cohesion(CC) – strucutre

Lexial resource (LR)- vocabulary

Grammar (GRA)

The overall score of your writing section is then calculated on the basis of the marks obtained by you on the given areas.

The examiner also checks the following information in your writing task –

Under length – If you have written less than the number of words you are expected to write, i.e. 150 for writing task 1 and at least 250 for task 2 , your marks will be reduced.

No of words – The total count of words written by you get mentioned here.

Penalty – This area is marked if you have written under length.

Off topic – This means that you have written that was not even asked in the question.

Memorized – Often students while preparing for IELTS, memorize answers of band 9. Remember, the examiner knows it and you will end up losing marks.

Illegible – This means that the answer written by you is either losing the word limit required or you have used a different language.

Even more, make sure that you don’t write beyond the lines provided and also take care about the margins.

So, make sure you practice with the official answer sheet and be sure of scoring high in IELTS.

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Cybertheft Agreement With China # Practice Reading

Somber (gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted) against a backdrop (to provide a setting or background for) of grand pageantry (spectacular display; pomp), President Barack Obama laid out a fresh threat (an indication or warning of probable trouble) of sanctions (authoritative permission or approval, as for an action) against China for alleged (declared or stated to be as described; asserted) cybercrimes (criminal activity or a crime that involves the Internet, a computersystem, or computer technology) on Friday, even as he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement (the act of agreeing or of coming to a mutual arrangement) not to conduct (personal behavior; way of acting; bearing or deportment) or support such hacking (replacement of a single course of stonework by two or more lower courses). “It has to stop,” Obama declared (publicly avowed or professed; self-confessed).

The president, in a Rose Garden news conference (a meeting for consultation or discussion) with Xi, was clear that he’ll be wary (arising from or characterized by caution)until the Chinese follow through on promised (an express assurance on which expectation is to be based) efforts to stop cyberespionage, saying, “The question now is: Are words followed by action?”

As for the possibility (the state or fact of being possible) of sanctions, against either individuals (a single human being, as distinguished from a group), businesses or state-run companies, he said: “We will apply those, and whatever other tools we have in our tool kit, to go after cybercriminals (A cybercriminal is an individual who commits cybercrimes, where he/she makes use of the computer either as a tool or as a target or as both) either retrospectively (directed to the past; contemplative of past situations, events, etc)or prospectively (of or in the future).”

Obama said the agreement was progress (forward or onward movement towards a destination) — but he added that “I have to insist (to lay emphasis in assertion) our work is not yet done.”

Xi, for his part, agreed that the two countries would not “knowingly support” cybertheft and promised to abide by “norms of behavior” in cyberspace.

“Confrontation (an open conflict of opposing ideas, forces, etc) and friction (dissension or conflict between persons, nations, etc., because of differing ideas, wishes, etc)are not the right choice for both sides,” Xi said, speaking through a translator (a person who translates).

Both countries claim they don’t engage (to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons))in cybertheft (Stealing of financial and/or personal information through the use of computers for making its fraudulent or other illegal use) of commercial (prepared, done, or acting with sole or chief emphasis on salability,profit, or success) secrets, one of the deep differences that have threatened (to utter a threat against; menace) ties between the world’s two largest economies (the disposition or regulation of the parts or functions of any organic whole; an organized system or method).

Source :TIME

Read this again and again until you understand the passage entirely and grasp the vocabulary. Once you are sure, check out the quiz related to this passage.

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